It's Okay Not To Be Okay

/

Hope & Lamentation

They are the two different sides to the same coin. And they are both a form of prayer.

I’m seeing a lot of HOPE signs cropping up all over the place and I love this message and the sentiment behind it.

However, if today, or yesterday or tomorrow you are feeling a little short on hope don’t beat yourself up over it.

Lamenting is okay too.

It’s an act of mourning, “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow”. And there’s a lot to go around these days.

I’m giving myself space to feel this emotion and “feel the feels” because stuffing our emotions only holds them in longer.

I’m letting go of the guilt for not feeling “ok” all the time.

With gratitude.

Do You Want To Rewind Some Things?

/

No use crying over spilled milk.

Easier said than done! Right

Since the advent of “rewind” on live TV, sometimes I find my brain is tricked into thinking that all things can be rewound.

A word said in anger - rewind.

A moment of distracted driving - rewind.

A missed opportunity to have a hard or meaningful conversation - rewind.

A fleeting goodbye that was a last - rewind.

The mysteries of life are many. And we all have to live with the decisions we make, the ones that make no difference and the ones that do.

But I do know one thing - that living in the past and lamenting the mistakes we’ve made is no way to live.

At some point you have to choose to forgive. And it might be YOU that needs to forgive YOU.

“The greatest adventure is what lies ahead. Today and tomorrow are yet to be said. The chances, the changes are all yours to make. The mold of your life is in your hands to break.” J.R.R. Tolkien

With gratitude.

Music Knows Me

/

Have you ever felt a certain song or musical artist just connected with your soul?

Like the order of the notes was somehow linked to your DNA?

That from the moment you heard it you just knew it was something special.

Maybe even made just for you?

This is how I feel about the band Jamiroquai. From the very first rift in the very first song I knew this would be a band that I would love forever.

It’s like the music KNOWS me.

I know that sounds weird but I cannot describe it any other way.

I would love to hear about the music in your life that makes you feel the same way.

Here’s a hint - if you own a box set (you young ones might not know what I am talking about) then that is probably your answer!

*Side note* I was lucky enough to see them in concert in Denver about 15 years ago. Since then the lead singer has been permanently banned from the US for driving too fast.

Just A Little White Lie

/

Does the truth matter I still think it does. But society today seems to promote another message.

It’s okay to lie as long as it’s just a little lie.

And we have become so skeptical.

It used to be that photographic evidence was indisputable. Now, I question everything I see. Hmmm, that looks Photoshopped.

Even videos can be altered and we all know “creative editing” can distort and pervert reality.

So what does one do?

Well to start with, I think its okay and important to ask questions. I also use my intuition, “does this feel right?” And lastly its imperative to build relationships and communities founded on trust.

It's okay to demand the truth be told. Its okay to hold yourself and others to honesty

As the great Winston Churchill said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end there it is.”

Yes, there it is. And it matters.

Turn "almost" to "instead"

/

There is pain and heartbreak in every “almost”. I read this in a book the other day and boy did it make me think.

And so I reflected on the “almosts” in my own life, and truth be told, most of them turned out for the better.

For instance, I almost moved to New Zealand in 2001. If I had, I know for sure I would not be here, writing this message to you today.

Maybe it’s all about perspective. In place of lamenting the “almost” you find the beauty in the path you DID take.

Turn the pain and heartbreak of the “almost” to the joy and beauty of the “instead”.

I would love to hear about some of your “almost” and “instead” moments.

With gratitude.

QUIT SMOKING

/

The other day I showed a house that was occupied by smokers.

I am not here to harp or preach but I want to share the straight facts with you.

If you choose to smoke that’s on you but please understand that if you decide to smoke IN your home you have probably slashed your home value by upwards of 30%.

Bad odors are one of the biggest turn offs for buyers and one that they CANNOT get past. Do yourself a favor (quit smoking) and smoke outside!

My Job Is To Burn

/

Do you have a wood stove? We do and we primarily heat our home with it in the winter.

One of my least favorite things about the wood stove is when it’s almost out and I have to coax it back to life or even clean it and start a new fire.

However, I have learned a little trick. When the fire is nearly out I can get it going again with some new logs and just a little paper.

With one balled up piece of newspaper, something to catch the flame I am able to remind the fire who she is.

It doesn’t take much, just one little spark of fire to get it going again.

That one piece of paper is immediately consumed and the fire remembers - my job is to burn. Lately I have found there are certain activities I can do too that remind me who I am.

Whether it be exercise, meditation, reading or connecting with a loved one, I can trigger a part of my brain that gets me back into gear.

How about you? I would love to hear what gets your fire going again.

With gratitude.

What's For Dinner?

/

You know the major adulting conundrum we all have? You know the one? Come on, the one that plagues you everyday (unless you are one of those super organized types)!

Yep, you got it - WHAT TO MAKE FOR DINNER!

Well, we got this little gal a kids cookbook for Christmas and now she WANTS to make dinner. This is one of her new specialties, taco cups

I don’t know how long this is going to last so I am going to enjoy it as long as she does.

***Side note: You know when you are growing up and you get all kinds of advice from adults- make sure to travel, get good grades, marry your best friend, kids will change your life, you get the picture….

How come NO ONE ever told me that finding something to cook for dinner every night was going to be so hard?

In Pricing Your Home

/

But Zillow says my house is worth a gazillion dollars!

Okay, I’m exaggerating, kind of.

Zillow uses sales data to come up with your “Zestimate” but what they can’t factor in are things like the view, traffic noise, intimate community knowledge, changes in the local work force like a company leaving town or coming to town.

In other words the “Zestimate” is a 50,000 foot view of your homes value.

Having your local agent help you price your home is like looking under a microscope at the value of your home.

Don’t leave these things to chance. Now is not the time to be inaccurate about pricing. Correct pricing is going to dictate whether your home sits on the market or gets multiple-over asking offers.

Do Not Make This Mistake As Well

/

You know how you can sometimes learn from someone else’s mistake

Well here’s an opportunity for you.

I recently heard about a home that sold “off market”. This is a home that is sold privately, no Realtors involved.

Apparently the seller (lets just call her Jane) did not want to pay real estate commissions so she sold it herself.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this, however, while Jane saved herself the commissions she cost herself over $200,000 in the purchase price.

Had she called a local Realtor they would have helped her price her home accordingly, in line with fair market value. Jane ended up selling her home for WAY under market value.

Your home is likely your most valuable asset. Don’t leave it to chance, fate or your best guess. Get some expert and professional advice so you don’t end up like Jane.

A Note At The Airport

/

My daughter found this note in the airport.

It was just an unassuming little wad of paper, but being 12 and curious, she decided to pick it up.

And inside someone, I don’t know who, poured out a little of their heart.

Who is this person, the recipient?

Who is the other person, the author?

We won’t ever know.

But judging by the amount of times it seems to have been folded and unfolded, I do think the recipient is probably sad to have lost it.

Or maybe not, maybe this note had been carried around for months in a pocket or wallet and was purposely tossed out as a result of a shattered heart. Tears shed while waiting for a plane

I love the possibilities of this note. The stories it weaves. The heart that beat a little faster when these 30 words were read, over and over again. Memorized and inscribed.

And the part I love most is that someone, because of another, felt hope again. I pray that you have someone in your life that brings you hope too.

With gratitude.

The Bright Side

/

Looking on the bright side.

Here’s what I do when I am having a total crap day.

Pull up those cool videos that do the zoom out of the universe. You know the ones, it starts on your street and progresses to the next solar system in the Milky Way, or something like that!

When I feel like my problems are insurmountable, I like to remind myself that I am just a speck in the universe and whatever I am going through is likely transitory.

Choices When Pricing Your Home

/

You have 3 choices when pricing your home:

  1. Test the market. This strategy works in a rapidly rising market because you are pricing ahead of the market with the hopes that the market will meet or surpass your list price

  2. Price it right. This falls right into the range of what market comparables tell us the home is worth. Not too high, not too low.

    Is this sounding a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

  3. Strategically aggressive price. This is the price range that attracts multiple offers and offers over asking price.

There is no right or wrong answer. But your pricing should reflect your timing goals. Please leave any questions below.

LIFE ISN'T FAIR

/

I was 9 years old when I first learned that life isn’t fair.

My third grade teacher, would have a monthly calendar contest. We were tasked with making a creative and colorful calendar on poster board to be displayed as the “official class calendar” for the month.

Oh, this was right up my alley.

I loved coming up with ideas and seeing how many items I could hot glue to a poster board before it could no longer support itself.

Conversation hearts and doilies for February and spring flowers and Lucky Charms cereal for March

And what better to glue to a calendar in October than the candy corn no one will eat.

Each month, as I poured my heart and soul into my creation, I thought surely my classmates would be awed with wonder and crown me queen of the calendar.

But alas, I never won.

Not a single time.

Now I know this was a long time ago and my memory might be a little foggy but I’m 99.8% sure my calendars were the best, at least some of the time.

But I never won.

And that’s when I was introduced to the “good ole boy (and girl)” system.

Some of these kids had been together since kindergarten! They had history! And I was the new kid in 3rd grade.

It was always the same handful of kids that would win. Were their calendars good? Meh, sometimes, but they had the votes and that’s all that mattered.

One month I had had enough and I campaigned on the playground. Disclaimer: nothing of value was exchanged for votes, but I did present a persuasive argument.

Well that didn’t go over well and ended up with a call to my parents. I wasn’t acting the the “spirit of the contest.”

At the tender age of 9 I realized that the “best girl” doesn’t always win.

It broke my heart. And truth be told, it still does.

Life isn’t fair, we all know this but it doesn’t make it any easier.

But I know there will be an occasion that I can share this story with my girls and they might realize that while life isn’t always fair, there is so much to be grateful for and if we focus on the good nothing can get in the way. 

Negotiating Inspection

/

I’m going to tell you a little secret: Negotiating inspection items can be a bit tricky.

Shows like Million Dollar Listing have not helped either. I cannot tell you how many times the agent on TV says, “We will just get the seller at inspection”. Yeah, it doesn’t work that way.

The purpose of the inspection is to reveal items that cannot be seen with the naked eye or issues that only a thorough home inspection would find.

In other words, the giant carpet stain you saw during the showing is not something that should end up on your list of inspection requests.

For the best results stick to health and safety issues.

And remember, it doesn’t hurt to ask for the things that are important to you. The seller cannot “ditch” you because you sent over a list of inspection requests. All they can do is say no.

If you have kept your list to major items that “any reasonable buyer” would find objectionable the seller is probably going to agree with you.

One of my biggest roles in a real estate transaction is helping you through this process whether you are the buyer or the seller.

The Most Common Things Buyers Look For

/

Low to no inventory.

Yep, that is the current state of affairs in the real estate market. We have way more buyers than we do houses.

So what are buyers looking for?

Well anything at this point because they can’t be picky, but here are the most common things I hear:

  1. At least 3 bedroom

  2. Under $500K

  3. Something that doesn’t need a ton of work

  4. Master bedroom

  5. Second living room

If you are curious about selling and what your home might be worth please reach out. I will listen to your needs and goals and give you sound advice.

Off Market Sale

/

You know how you can sometimes learn from someone else’s mistake?

Well here’s an opportunity for you.

I recently heard about a home that sold “off market”. This is a home that is sold privately, no Realtors involved.

Apparently the seller (let’s just call her Jane) did not want to pay real estate commissions so she sold it herself.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this, however, while Jane saved herself the commissions, she cost herself over $200,000 in the purchase price.

Had she called a local Realtor, they would have helped her price her home accordingly, in line with fair market value. Jane ended up selling her home for WAY under market value.

Your home is likely your most valuable asset. Don’t leave it to chance, fate or your best guess. Get some expert and professional advice so you don’t end up like Jane.